At the Dallas event, the moment of silence gave way to prayer and a diverse crowd circling to voice concerns about police brutality, militarization and racial profiling.

Ebony Issac, a 25-year-old bartender from Duncanville, hastily organized the event through social media after seeing a Twitter campaign calling for a national moment of silence. No Dallas protest had been planned, so she took it upon herself to secure city approval and mobilize a crowd.

“This is my first activist move,” she says. “You aren’t an activist without acting.”

Police presence at the Dallas rally was noticeably light, with a single plain-clothed officer on the periphery.

Protesters remained peaceful throughout the event and the pervading undercurrent was one of unity and solidarity. The crowd dispersed with the onset of nightfall.